Analytical+Tools

=Help Separating the Chaff from the Grain=

Prolife, prochoice, and abortion-neutral links.
 [|**Anecdotal Evidence & Testimonials**] Because the use of anecdotal evidence and testimonials from others is so common, it often goes unrecognized for the problem that it is.

[|**Avoiding the Question**] It is unfortunately common that many important questions and challenges go unanswered â€” but why do people do this? A common reason may be a desire to avoid admitting that they might be wrong  [|**Barnum Effect & Gullibility**] A common reference point as to why people believe the advice of psychics and astrologers - not to mention many other nice things said about them - is the "Barnum Effect."  [|**Bias and Vested Interest**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Bias occurs any time that facts are interpreted in a way that unreasonably favors one position over another; vested interest is a cause of bias in which one will personally and specifically benefit if people adopt a particular position. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Black & White Thinking**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">When we fall victim to Black and White Thinking, we have reduced an entire spectrum of possibilities down to the two most extreme options. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Common Misconceptions About Quackery**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">All of these misconceptions apply to the quackery of abortion. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Confirmation Bias**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">This one is a must-read. Confirmation bias is the process by which we selectively pay attention to what we already believe to be true. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Critically Evaluating the Logic and Validity of Information**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">A brief and very readable overview, with hints on how to identify valid and invalid arguments. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Distinguishing Science and Pseudoscience**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Very reader-friendly, light in tone but providing important information. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Economy with the Truth**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">If our beliefs are to be sound, justified, and rational, then they must fully take into account all available and relevant information. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Fear, Complexity, & Environmental Management in the 21st Century**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">A piece by Michael Crichton about complex systems and the difficulty of making predictions. This would apply, I'd assume, to predictions of eliminating child abuse by making abortion readily available. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Fetal Tissue Sales Stories**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Examining what has already been documented about the abortion industry gives us a means of judging the credibility of Dean Alberty's stories. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Five Rules of Propaganda**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Short and sweet. You probably won't even need to scroll. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Five Steps**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">A business manager site, but with some good guidelines for critical thinking skills. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**How Gullible Are We?**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">A science fair project teaches the importance of thinking before we draw conclusions. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**How Quackery Sells**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Reader-friendly look at how false cures can be sold. The parallels to abortion are striking. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Influence at Work**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">The Psychology of Persuasion. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Junk Science Judo**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">The basics of how to spot junk science. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Logic & Fallacies**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">This guide to basic logic is on an Atheist site. Make what you will of the atheism, but the logic information is good. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Nizkor Project**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">This guide to identifying false arguments is on an anti-Revisionist site. Make what you will of the rest of the site, but the Fallacies page is good overall logic. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Propaganda and Persuasion**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">An excellent article on the differences between the two. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Propaganda Analysis Home Page**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Excellent guide to developing skills in identifying and analyzing propaganda. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Propaganda Techniques**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">An overview of 11 popular propaganda techniques. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Propaganda Techniques Related to Enviromental Scares**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">If you see them in one context, it might help you to spot them in other contexts. The methods are the same, even if the content differs. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Reading Between the Numbers**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Five excellent steps you can take to avoid being bamboozled by BS. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Recognizing Propaganda Techniques**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">These techniques are designed to fool us because the appeal to our emotions rather than to our reason. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Recognizing Propaganda Techniques and Errors of Faulty Logic**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Short and sweet. An excellent basic overview. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [| **Repetition: Argumentum Ad Nauseam**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">The mass media often plays an important role in the spread of invalid ideas, for example by failing to provide any skeptical arguments or even acknowledging that skepticism exists. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Self-Deception**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">How can you fool yourself? //Can// you fool yourself? <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Subjective Validation**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Subjective validation is also sometimes used to describe how people can become overconfident about their prejudices. Essentially, we talk ourselves into believing that we are right even when the evidence should convince us that we are wrong. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**That's Hooey!**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Take this quiz to see how well you can spot bad arguments. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Truth seekers and partisans**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">A fascinating look at brain activity and challenges to one's beliefs. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Unskilled and Unaware**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Being mistaken about something is not a flaw in a person's reasoning and neither is being unskilled in constructing or analyzing logical arguments. Where a flaw does occur, the worse a person is at such tasks, the less likely they are to realize it. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [| **Vagueness**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Just because a person is being vague doesn't mean he's necessarily wrong, but it's a good idea to find out exactly what's happening and why. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**What is Critical Thinking?**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">An excellent analysis of why we all need to cultivate and develop critical thinking skills. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**What is Propaganda?**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">This is a lesson plan which can be used as a group exercise, or just for your own edification. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Why is Logic Important?**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Is it a waste of time to learn to identify false arguments, or to learn to make sound arguments? <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Wikipedia entry on propaganda.**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">An excellent overview, information on the history of propaganda, and specific propaganda techniques. <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"> [|**Wikipedia entry on public relations.**] <span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,helvetica;">Once you read through this, you'll start recognizing the tricks.